I have quotes in hand for 3 replacement windows but honestly don't know if one line is really better than the next. Looking at Milgard Tuscany, Revere Berkshire Fusion vinyl andSimonton Prism Series (which of the four on Simonton website- I am not sure) all in double hungs. The Milgard is a bit higher, although the window might "look" a little better, at least from showroom. The Revere installer uses heavy weight of window and the aluminum reinforcement as selling feature. The Simonton installer sells on JD Power rating and "number one" in volume of sales in country. Tempted to go with the Revere but not sure about that "aluminum reinforcement" selling point. Does anyone have experience with any or all three?

The Simonton Prism window that was quoted to me is the Bronze. How does that compare to the Revere I mentioned earlier? The Milgard was pretty expensive so I was hoping there wasn't a substantial difference between it and the other two which were almost identical in pricing.

The Revere windows have Low-E coating and Argon filled air space- qualifies for 2010 energy credit. The Simonton Bronze will be installed with ETC366 glass (tax credit approved glass). I don't know everything about the Low-E rating but have asked if they meet the .3 rating I have read about- as you can read, I am a homeowner without a great deal of knowledge about windows and building products but I don't want to make a mistake and pick a window that will give me problems down the road. I live in a 26 year old Colonial in Virginia.

Thank you for your quick responses and helpful information. I am still not totally clear on the meaning of the "366" glass with the Simonton windows. I have asked for a price on the Platinum but the marketing rep for the installation company says the Platinum is also installed with the ETC366 glass. He assures me they qualify with the newer tax credit requirements. Why is that not such a good idea for Virginia climate IYO and what should I be asking for? Also, I am still considering the Revere windows because the installer is a friend of my neighbor and he did their windows recently and frankly, to me, they look almost identical to the Simonton windows I looked at. Do you know anything about them?

Low-e 366, or as it is referred to as ETC366, is a 3 coat low-e (as opposed to 2 coat) that is made by Cardinal glass.

It is a well regarded low-e and is definitely recommended for climate regions that are more cooling degree day (FL, TX, AZ, etc) dominated.

In the case of VA, it would not be my first recommendation because it cuts the passive solar heating aspect of the window down quite considerably. It is also a slight bit darker than your two coat low-e. I know that several of the Simonton windows are qualified without the Low-e 366 coating. If you like that series, have them re-quote your window with a 2 coat low-e option.

Simonton is promoting the ETC 366 glass package right now because it is pretty much a one size fits all way to meet the tax requirements. On an average sized double hung window, it will give a .3 u value and a SHGC of .20 which - as mentioned numerous times on here - is somewhat on the tinted side.

Another option is the "Solar System Glass Package AR" which will give a u value of .3, yet a SHGC of .25 which will allow more light in. Because Simonton is generally promoting the ETC package, you can generally purchase the "ETC Starter" package approx. $40-45 less per window than the Solar System Glass Package. In any event, you get a nice performing window from a very good company who boasts OUTSTANDING customer service, who is rock solid and will be there in the event that anything goes wrong. Their intangibles really put them over the top in my mind. They're just SOOOOOO easy to deal with if you have a problem. I can't say that for the others.

Thank you so much for all of your information. Although the Simonton window sounded good, the salesman ended up turning me off by offering a good price for the Platinum vs. the Bronze (only a few hundred more for a lot of windows) but wanted a <24 hour commitment decision from me. I wasn't quite ready to commit and had other personal issues I was trying to address at the same time, so I have decided to go with the Revere windows since I have actually seen them installed in my neighbor's house (the glass did not seem too filtering to me), she is quite happy with them, and the value was quite a selling point on top of a low pressure sell from the company making bid to me. Hope I am making the right decision, but after talking to a couple of people who use Revere in other cities, I think I'll be happy.

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